Arizona Corporation

You can get an EIN directly from the IRS. The application is free, and most businesses can apply online. However, if you don’t have a social security number, you’ll need to submit a paper application form. Can’t bear to fill out yet another application? Hire Northwest to get your EIN for you. Just add on EIN service during checkout when you sign up for our incorporation service.

Corporate bylaws cover basic policies and procedures for issues such as company finances and management. Bylaws should cover a range of topics, answering key questions like those below:

• Meetings: When and where will meetings for shareholders and directors be held? How many attendees are required to transact business? What are the procedures for voting or proxy voting? How do you call a special meeting? What actions can be taken without a meeting?

• Stock: How are stock certificates issued and transferred? How is voting affected by issues such as corporate stock owners or fractional shares?

• Directors and officers: How many directors must there be? Which officer positions are required? What powers do they have? How do you fill a vacancy or remove a director or officer?

• Finances: What are the procedures for retaining profits, issuing dividends, and paying bills? Who can withdraw money from the corporate bank account or sign checks?

• Records: Where is the corporate book to be kept? What information will be maintained? How are requests for review or access honored? Can records or copies be kept or distributed digitally?

• Amendments and emergencies: Who can amend bylaws and how? Can emergency bylaws be adopted in the case of disaster?

According to AZ Rev Stat § 10-206 (2019), bylaws can make other provisions as well, assuming additions are in accordance with state law. For example, AZ Rev Stat § 10-627 (2019) states that Arizona bylaws can restrict the transfer of shares.

Creating bylaws can be overwhelming—where do you start? Northwest can help. We give you free corporate bylaws when you hire us to form your Arizona corporation. We know what kinds of topics and questions corporations need to address, and we’ve spent years refining and improving our forms. We offer many other free corporate forms as well, including templates for resolutions and meeting minutes.

Arizona corporations are required to pay a $45 filing fee to submit their report each year.

Forget to file? There’s a $9 a month penalty. After 90 days unpaid, the ACC will send you a Notice of Pending Administrations Dissolution. Roughly 60 days after that, the state will dissolve your corporation. Yikes.

The Arizona corporate net income tax rate is a flat 4.9%. There’s a minimum tax of $50.

Arizona has no sales tax per se, but the state has a Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT). This is a gross receipts tax that sellers pay on their income from retail sales. Businesses are allowed to pass the TPT onto customers, so it typically ends up appearing similar to a sales tax. The state TPT rate is 5.6%, but cities and counties can tack on their own TPTs, so the total rate can be as much as double the state rate.

The Arizona Corporation Commission charges a $60 filing fee for Articles of Incorporation, but this state processing time can take weeks. Expediting is an additional $35.

*Note: Depending on the county where your corporation is registered, you may also have to pay a fee to publish a notice of formation after your articles are approved (see the publication question below for details).

Arizona is one of the few states that requires some businesses to publish notification of formation. Most Arizona corporations will have to publish a notice in a local newspaper for three consecutive issues of the paper. (“Local” is a relative term here. The newspaper must be located in the same county as your statutory agent’s address.) After you file your articles, you’ll receive an approval letter from the Arizona Corporation Commission, which will include directions for publication. There is typically a fee for publication, but rates for each newspaper vary.

Good news, however, if your business is located in Maricopa or Pima County. These two counties automatically publish a notice for you online in the Public Notice Database for no fee. Our Northwest office is in Pima County—so when you hire us and list our address as your principal address, you can skip this headache entirely.

Unexpedited processing time is usually around 20 business days. Typically, expediting means your articles will be processed in 8 days.

Arizona doesn’t have a general, statewide business license—but there are loads of specific licenses and permits you may need. For example, if you sell anything, you’ll need a TPT license from the Arizona Department of Revenue.

Counties, cities, and towns may have their own licensing requirements as well. For instance, if you’re engaging in business in Tucson, you’ll need to pay the $25 fee for a Tucson Business License.

For some license applications you may need an EIN or a certified copy of your Articles of Incorporation. At Northwest, we can streamline the process and get these for you—simply add on these items during checkout.

A corporation formed outside of Arizona—but which conducts business in the state—is considered a foreign Arizona corporation. For example, if you incorporated in New Mexico but decide to open a storefront in Arizona, you would be a foreign Arizona corporation. This also means you would need to register with the state by filing an Application for Authority to Transact Business in Arizona with the Arizona Corporation Commission. Foreign corporations are required to file the Arizona Annual Report each year as well.

Absolutely! We’re happy to start a nonprofit corporation for you. Note that incorporating an Arizona nonprofit requires a different form. The filing fee is lower as well ($40). Arizona nonprofits must file an annual report each year but this fee is lower too ($10).

It’s a conundrum: you need a local number to display on your website and give to customers, but you don’t want to make your personal number quite so…public. We get it. And we’ve got you covered with Northwest Phone Service. We can provide you with a virtual phone number in any state—plus unlimited call forwarding and tons of easy-to-use features. You can try Phone Service free for 60 days when you hire us to form your corporation, and maintaining service is just $9 monthly after that. No contract required.